El Rincón House / Juan Carlos Sabbagh Arquitectos

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In the main space of the living and dining room, a terrace is projected towards the main garden with the same double height as the interior spaces. This allows expanding the spaces, generating continuity between the interior and exterior. This terrace is protected from the sun through a wooden lattice on the second level that runs along its entire length. This automated lattice allows for gradual control of the entry of light and heat into the house. In conjunction with the retractable awnings hidden in the mezzanine beam, the space can be completely enclosed to be used on cold winter days.The required program was quite extensive, as the family is large and multiple-use spaces were required, such as study rooms, an art workshop, and a gym. That is why the house is resolved by concentrating it on three levels in order to reconcile varied uses in the smallest possible space.The terrain slopes from north to south, which is where it is accessed from the street, and contains a horizontal platform in its lower part that used to be a tennis court. This place was the most suitable and available to locate the house, however, it left it in a somewhat buried situation with respect to the garden and the distant views to the north. That is why it is decided that all the main spaces have double height to counteract this condition and also to capture the maximum amount of light and, at the same time, be able to contemplate in their real dimension two large existing American oaks on the terrain.Text description provided by the architects.The project proposes a suspended volume over the ground that rotates with respect to the street, facing north to seek the sun and distant views of the Andes Mountain Range. This volume, made up of a concrete parallelepiped, is intervened as a granite sculpture. Through the excavation of the volume, in a play of full and empty, the spaces of the program are accommodated. To highlight this sculpting process, some walls are left polished and others textured, just as the contrast between the cut planes and the untouched faces of the natural stone remains.To bring warmth to the spaces, it is decided to add a third texture made up of wooden planes that cover some interior faces, as well as lattices that create light filters and control the entry of sunlight into the interior.